Ordinary People
by Morbid Original
Summary: Ed finds the Rockbells have a strange girl staying with them.Winry says she's her friend,but when a new group of assasins attack,Ed starts to think there's something this new girl isn't telling him. EDxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Ordinary People**

During a visit to Resembool, Ed and Al find that the Rockbells have a strange girl staying with them. Winry insists she's a friend of hers, but truly,almost nothing is known about her. When a new group of assasins launch an attack on the three, Ed begins to suspect the new girl knows more than she's telling them. EdxOC

**oOo**

**Chapter One**

_Red. Everything blood red. The walls, the ceiling, the floor: red. The furniture, the glass of the windows: red. The fire devouring the room: red. My brother's maimed body: red. My own body: red. _

_The stone..._

_The taunting voice of someone I can't see: "So you're looking for the Philosopher's Stone?"_

_...Red..._

Ed gasped, sitting up sharply.

"Brother?" Across the carriage from Ed, there sat the collossal metal being that was his little brother.

"What?" Ed said.

"I think we're almost here," Alphonse said hopefully. Ed looked out the window to see the evening already settled over the rolling green hills of his old home.

'_Resembool...'_ Ed's thoughts trailed off into memories. How long ago was it? Three years? No, not possible. It couldn't have happened so lately. '_Then again, time flies when you're away from home_,' Edward thought desolately.

"Ed, look!" Alphonse pointed out the window with one long, gloved finger. Winry's old, brick house slowly came into view at the top of a hill. Ed smiled.

"I see it, Al. We're home." The carriage came to a creaking halt in front of the cottage, and the two brothers stepped out – one of them _very_ stiff and of whom would have been in an extremely pissy mood if it weren't for the thought of seeing Winry again.

'_Hope _she_, at least, hasn't changed at all,'_ Ed thought as he walked up the steps to her front door. He could hear footsteps and voices inside. Ed closed his eyes for a moment, almost like he was praying, and taking a deep breath, knocked on the door.

More footsteps, quicker this time, and finally...

"Edward!" Winry stood before them wearing a knee-length pink dress and flip-flops, beaming at them cheerfully. She hugged Ed shyly then stood back to take a look at them. "We're so glad you could make it!" Shading her eyes from the sun, Winry looked up at the gleaming armor.

"How've you been, Al?" His set metal face almost appeared to be smiling.

"Okay. How are you and Aunt Pinako?" Al said.

"Oh, you know, same as always," Winry said, stepping back to let them enter. The two stepped inside the old house, taking in all its familiar sights and smells and finding it to be exactly the same as it had always been. "Grandma's in the kitchen making dinner. I'll tell her you're here," Winry offered. "You know where to put your things."

Ed smiled.

"Okay. Thanks, Win," he said and headed up the stairs to the extra room that he and Al always stayed in. Dropping his suitcase by the dresser, Ed fell back on the bed, sighing.

"It's good to be back, huh," he said softly, almost to himself.

"Mhm." Al nodded.

Ed stared at the ceiling with its same cracks and patterns as had always been there. It felt good to be there in Resembool, surrounded by all the things and people they had loved before the accident. Everything was so riotous in Central. There was never that calm, relaxed feeling of the country that before had been all the Elric brothers had known. When they were in Resembool – when they were home – everything seemed to come together again; problems worked themselves out and frustrations were forgotten – or maybe it was just the clean, country air that helped clear the brothers' minds.

Ed closed his eyes, trying to slow his racing thoughts. 'None of that matters now. We're all the way back at our roots; we're with Winry and Aunt Pinako. For these next seven days, I can put Central and the military and all the trouble that comes with them out of my mind.' He sighed. '...It all seems too good to be true...'

There was a knock on the bedroom door, but Ed didn't move.

"Hey, you guys?" The door opened a bit, and Winry stuck her head in the room. "Dinner's ready. I hope you're hungry!" There was a pause. "Is Ed asleep?"

Ed opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows.

"No, I'm awake."

Winry smiled.

"Okay. Hurry up or you won't get any!" she said teasingly and left.

Ed stood and realizing he was still dressed from travel, shed his trench coat, tossing it carelessly onto the bed, then headed downstairs with Al behind him. At the foot of the stairs, they could hear Winry and her grandmother, Pinako, talking in the next room.

"Where _is_ that girl tonight? She was supposed to help you set the table," said Pinako.

"She already did, right before she left."

There was a pause. Ed imagined Pinako surveying the dining room with her usual critical expression.

"She said she was going somewhere, and she probably wouldn't make it in time for dinner," Winry continued. Another pause. "I think...she left on purpose," Winry said lowly.

Pinako grunted.

"It would be very like her, I suppose; she doesn't like to intrude," the old woman muttered.

"She should be back tonight."

"Indeed. Winry, I thought you told those boys to come downstairs."

"I did! They should be here any-"

"Hey, Aunt Pinako!" Ed said jovially as he and Al strode into the dining room. They took their seats at the table. "Sorry we took so long. Al's just so lazy, it takes me forever to get him to move one inch!"

"_I'm_ lazy-!"

"Mmm! Something smells great! What's cookin'?"

Winry and Pinako just stared at them.

"Heh heh..." Ed smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Pinako shook her head slightly and set her pipe in her mouth.

"We're having stew, of course. What did you think I'd make for you," she said.

"Right..."

The meal progressed and soon, Ed's unusual mood was forgotten. Though Alphonse couldn't eat (not having a body to put a stomach in, of course) he kept up the conversation, filling everyone in about events in Central and other places they'd traveled to. Ed was too busy stuffing his face to talk much.

At about eight thirty, the three went into the parlor and sat on the hearth of the fireplace while Pinako rocked slowly back and forth in her old rocking chair behind them. There was only some talk, how was Ed liking Central (and did he enjoy being a 'dog of the military,' according to Pinako), but mostly it was quiet, and Ed just stared into the fire, thinking about how many times he and Al and Winry had done the same thing they were now, just sitting there, talking, in the days before all the trouble.

After a while, Ed stood up slowly, stretching.

"I'm gonna call it a night," he said and yawned.

Winry smiled up at him.

"Okay. I'm going to stay up for a while and help clean up in the kitchen," she said.

Ed nodded,and he and Al headed back upstairs.

Winry called after them, "Good night, you two!"

"G'night," they said. _'Good night, Winry,'_ Ed thought. He was sad, for some reason, and he didn't know what that reason was. Perhaps _disappointment_. But disappointment with what? He was home, he was with Winry, she hadn't clobbered him with her wrench for any reason yet... But still, something was missing. Something was...different. _'But no,'_ he thought. _'Winry hasn't changed at all. She's exactly like I remembered her...'_

Change. It was what Edward had always dreaded. People grow older and grow apart; sometimes people change so much that Ed can hardly believe they're the same person he once knew. That's what he loved about Winry. She had hardly changed at all since he first met her, and they had known each other as long as both of them have been alive. It seemed so foreign to Ed, to feel the way he did right then, and the cold, hard truth seemed so unreal.

'_I'm sorry, Winry,'_ he promised silently. _'_I'm_ the one who's changed.'_

**oOo**

**A/N: Awwwww! Ed doesn't luv Winry no more! HA! BURN!**

**Naw. I love Winry. She's really cool, badass...whatevs, keep your preference. But I just CAN'T see her with Ed!**

**DON'T KILL ME!**

**Yeah, it's implied Ed had a crush on her, but that was at the beginning of the series when he was like 12. Later on, you can see he totally loves her! but as a sister and a friend. Now, trust me, I'm all for bending series plots and crap to fit fangirlistic needs (Just look what I did to Teen Titans...No, really, don't), but I'll leave all that to you. Hell, I can't be the only fangirl on here who doesn't ship EdWin... or EdxRoy...Heehh...shudders...Although, sadly, I read more EdxRoy than anything else...**

**And that is EXACTLY why I am writing this. It's probably gonna suck, 'cause I never finish anything...or think things through carefully...ever...seriously _ever_...But I'm gonna give it a shot. Because, hey, we need at least one fic on here that pairs Ed with someone who's not...so...meh...**


	2. Chapter 2

**oOo**

**Chapter Two**

That night, Ed fell asleep quickly, back in his old, familiar bed by the window, stars shining down on him from the clear, night sky. As he first lay down, drawing the sheets over him, he thought of Winry again. And it seemed okay. Change was natural. And the rest of him, he thought, was still the same. He would always be the same to Winry: a brother to her, a friend. Come to think of it, that was the way it had always been. He would be the only one who new about this change of feeling. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

Around eleven o'clock, Ed woke up. He sat up, squinting into the darkness.

"Brother?" It was Al.

"Al, what are you doing up? What's-"

"Listen."

There were footsteps outside, someone walking up the wooden ramp to the side door. Ed leaned his head out of the open window just soon enough to see the door close. He sat back on the bed.

"What's going on?" Al asked.

"I don't know," Ed said. "I didn't see who it was, but someone just came inside the house-"

Footsteps on the stairs now. Ed slid out of bed and crept over to the bedroom door.

"On my signal," he whispered, "we open the door and jump whoever's out there."

"But what if it's Winry? What if she just went outside for a while?" Al asked.

"In the middle of the ni-!"

The footsteps stopped in the hall. Ed fell silent. He heard the door to the room next to his creak open.

"Hey, is that you?" Winry's voice was heard. Then a voice he hadn't heard before.

"Yeah, it's just me. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." It was a girl. Young, probably no older than Ed or Winry, and there was something oddly awake and alert about her voice, since she had just been caught sneaking around at night.

"It's okay," Winry said as she stepped into the hall. There a pause. "Where were you all day?"

"Just out, wandering around."

Another pause.

"Winry?"

"I told you you could stay here. They wouldn't mind," Winry said at last.

"Neh, It'd be too awkward."

"Would not!"

The girl laughed.

"Good night, Win," she said.

"Night."

And the door creaked the rest of the way open, and the girl stepped inside. Ed assumed Winry returned to her own room as well. Some movement was heard, the rustling of sheets, a lamp switching off, then silence. Ed stayed where he was for a moment, crouched by the door, then he stumbled his way back to bed.

"What the hell – was that?"

**oOo**

The events of the night were, of course, forgotten, as Ed was aroused from sleep by the warm, spring sunlight coming in through his open window. It was nearly eight o'clock, according to his pocket watch, and for him, this was sleeping in on the weekend.

"Morning, Al," he said routinely as he began to dress.

The armor stirred where it sat against the wall opposite the bed.

"Good morning," he replied and stood up.

Ed stretched.

"You ready for a full day?"

"Mhm." Al nodded.

Ed smiled at him then opened the door and headed downstairs.

"So, you two, what's on your military R & R schedule today?" Winry asked mockingly as she began to clear the table after breakfast.

Ed rose to help her, taking his plate over to the sink, and he started to wash the dishes.

"I was thinking that maybe sometime today, Brother and I could go visit Mom," Alphonse said timidly.

All movement stopped, and all the energy in the universe seemed to concentrate solely on the young, blonde boy standing at the counter.

"...Brother?"

Ed suddenly turned to face the others. He smiled.

"Good idea, Al," he said, and finishing the last of the dishes, turned and headed into the living room. Exchanging a surprised look with Winry, Al went after him. He found Ed casually sprawled on the couch, his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"Brother?"

"Hmm?"

"You really mean it?"

Ed looked over at him then back at the ceiling.

"Yeah," he replied, after a moment of thought. "We should go see her." He paused, stretching his right arm out in front of him. "We might as well, since we're here."

**oOo**

A sweet breeze blew over the landscape, spreading the scent of wildflowers and leaves. There was a strange wind in the cemetery, or maybe Edward just imagined it. The two brothers stood in silence over the grave, no emotions apparent of either of them. Ed knelt down in front of the headstone, fingering the dry, cracked petals of flowers that had been laid there in her memory.

**Trisha Elric  
1953-1989  
Beloved Wife  
Beloved Mother**

Ed pulled out some of the weeds that had grown over the dark earth, then placed a single red rose by the headstone.

"Brother, look," Alphonse said.

Ed stood and went over to his brother. Al stood over another grave a few rows over from their mother's.

"It's Mr. Andrews's, Calvin's dad," Al said.

Ed read over the epitaph.

"Oh, yeah. I remember Cal. He was always working the farm for his father, because he was sick," he said.

Al nodded, then added softly, "I guess he did die from whatever he had. And it wasn't too long ago, either. Look." Al pointed to the date on the gravestone; the year of death had only been the year before.

"I can't believe it," Al muttered.

Ed stood there for a moment, then turned and started back for the dirt path leading out of the graveyard.

"A lot has happened since we've left. It's normal. It's not like the whole world would just stop dead like a clock, and only start up again when we came back to wind it up," he said, deadpan.

Al nodded, trudging along behind Ed.

"I know. One is all-"

"And all is one."

After walking for a minute, Ed veered to the left instead of continuing along the path.

"Brother?" Alphonse called.

"I'm going for a walk," Ed said. "Tell Winry and Pinako I'll be back by lunch."

Al nodded, knowing it was no use trying to sway his brother, and continued toward the Rockbells'.

Ed walked on for a while, past the farmlands and orchards, out into an open field with trees scattered along the hills – hills where he and his brother used to play as children. He tred on through the high grass up to the tallest hill, where two, great elm trees stood, their branches tangled within each others', growing into one another. There seemed to be a light music on the air, but then Ed realized he heard singing. As he neared the top of the hill, the words became clearer, and the voice, he thought, was the strangest – and most beautiful – he had ever heard.

"_...You've learned your lines...  
__To scale and to time...  
__...Why must I remind you that I'm only best able?...  
__We're ordinary people, we can't help but to change as we walk  
__And make plans in the dark  
__And make haste with the boy who can't help but keep good people out.  
__As you talk to me, too much you're assuming.  
__We don't always want what's right..."_

Reaching the top of the hill, Ed could see, sitting back against one of the trees, was a girl about his age, with long, dark brown hair and unusually pale skin. She was dressed simply, in a long indigo skirt and a faded, light purple peasant top with a white rose by the left shoulder; in her lap was an old, leather-bound book, open to a sketch. She looked up, hearing Ed approach.

"O-oh, I'm sorry. I just, thought I heard someone," Ed stammered, starting to turn away as his face deepened to a dark pink shade.

The girl smiled at him. Ed saw she had the most extraordinary eyes. They were different shades of blue, getting lighter towards the center of the iris, and then, around the pupil, was a magnificent light gold color.

"It's just me," the girl said, in an offhanded tone. "You're alright."

Reflex was to turn away and go home, Winry and the others would be waiting for him, anyway, but some other inner force kept Ed where he was. A slight smile crossed his face as he looked at the girl. She was...attractive, in a word, and not just because she was pretty. There was a feeling Ed got, just staring at her; something magnetic, a mutual, kind mien about them both.

Ed sat down beside her, hardly conscious of his action.

"You from around here?" the girl asked, her alluring eyes locked on his.

"Used to be," Edward said, then added dryly, "Now I'm in Central."

The girl laughed.

"The city, huh? Do you like it?"

Ed shrugged.

"It's okay. But it's completely different from Resembool."

She nodded.

"I'd imagine. There's no place quite like this."

Ed looked over at her.

"What about you? I've never seen you around here – then again, it's been awhile since I've lived here."

The girl gazed out over the field.

"I travel a lot. I hardly stay in one place for too long." She paused. "I think I've been almost everywhere by now," she laughed and sat back against the tree trunk. "But I'm from the city. And that's the only place I've stayed for more than a year or so at a time."

She looked over at Ed finally, the sunlight flashing in her eyes.

"Stupid, huh?"

Ed looked up, taken aback.

"What? No! I mean, I've kind of done the same thing. Me and my brother, we move around a lot too. We're..." He trailed off, choosing his words carefully. "...We're looking for something, and we just go where our search takes us."

The girl nodded. Ed looked over at the sketchbook she held. On the open page was an outline of the landscape from where they sat on the hill.

"That's good," Ed commented after a moment.

"Thanks," she replied, studying it herself. Then she grinned at Ed. "Look." She turned the page back to another drawing. It was similar to the first, but something was different.

"I drew this one last week, before the flowers opened up and the trees had all their new leaves," the girl said.

Ed smirked.

"It's beautiful," he said, marveling at the picture. It was in exact detail, like someone had outlined a photograph. "So, you draw?" he asked, later thinking how stupid and obvious a question that was.

The girl shrugged.

"Sometimes. And I write, and-"

"Sing."

"Oh, God, did you hear that?" the girl asked, a deep blush coming into her face.

Ed smiled at her.

"Just a little."

"Oh, God, I'm sorry, I-"

"Why are you sorry?" Ed interrupted.

"I...don't know..."

The blonde chuckled.

"What?" the girl asked, still blushing.

"Nothing. Don't be _sorry_. You were good," Ed said sincerely.

"Nah, not really."

"You were! I'm serious," Ed insisted, then asked, "What were you singing, anyway? I've never heard it before."

"Just this...thing, I don't know. I've just known it forever, and I like the words," she said simply. "It's a little sad, though. The lyrics can mean too many things," she added, somewhat cryptically.

Ed just nodded.

The girl closed her sketchbook then and slowly stood.

"I should go. It's almost time for lunch, and I haven't eaten anything since yesterday," she said, chuckling.

Ed stood as well, stretching slightly.

"Yeah, me too. If I'm late for another meal, you'll be seeing my name in tomorrow's obituaries."

The girl laughed.

"See you later," she said, starting down the hill.

Ed looked after her for a moment. Once she was a good distance away, he started back to Winry's, slightly disappointed that the girl wasn't going in his direction. A good way down the path, something hit him.

_Oh...DAMN IT! She's taller than me!_

**A/N: Woo hoo! I finished! Sorry it took so long. Reason being that this chappie was going to be much longer than it is, but I cut out a lot of the crap I had written that happens after this and started chapter three with it instead. Lol. So yeah, this is a pretty bigass chapter, and I introduced a new, as of un-named, character, (the random girl by the tree). Yeah, and we're gonna have some fun with this next chapter. It's pretty obvious what's going on, but whatever. Predictability makes people feel smart XD so why be a killjoy and be all cryptic and shit? Amen. Mkay. I'm gonna go work on the next chappie and a bunch of random sonnets that I may turn into a poem fic. Meh...**

**And I definitely made up the mom's epitaph…Yeah. And the year of birth.**

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I don't own FMA or the song "Pressed in a Book" by The Shins. The 'ordinary people' line is kinda the outline of this fic, but I didn't tell y'all that in the summary cuz I didn't feel like it. Mkay. I'm done here.**

**-The Morbid Original**


	3. Chapter 3

**oOo**

**Chapter Three**

Ed ducked inside the house just as the first dark gray clouds appeared. He could hear Winry and her grandma in the kitchen.

"I hope she doesn't get caught in the rain," Winry said. "And Edward, too. Where did he run off to?"

"Miss me?" Ed said sadistically as he entered the kitchen.

Winry looked up at him, surprised. She had obviously been discussing something secret with Pinako.

"Oh, there you are. We were just wondering where you'd-"

"Yeah, and who's this 'she' you were so worried about?" Ed interjected, wondering what the hell was going on with Winry.

"Well, um, Ed, you see-" she stammered, not really knowing how to begin. She wrung her hands nervously and bit her lip, to excuse her lack of words.

_What's the big deal!_ Ed thought. '_The hell has she been keeping from me? _Then finally, he remembered the girl he had heard the night before. _She sounded like...Wait-_

"Winry," Ed began. But he never finished, as just then, the front door opened and Alphonse, who was in the living room, spoke, sounding rather confused.

"Um, I think you have the wrong house..." he said unsurely.

"What? Oh, no, I'm staying here," said a voice that was all too familier.

"_Here?_ You're sure?" Al asked.

"Well, yeah, this is the Rockbell's house, right?"

Ed looked to Winry incredulously. She was looking at the floor, trying to hide her reddened face.

"Um, Ed, we've kind of had someone living with us for a few months..." she admitted lowly, a guilty smile crossing her face.

Ed's lips struggled to form words but sound could not be brought out of him. Then the girl with the long, dark brown hair came into the kitchen, carrying a wicker basket.

"Uh, Win? I think I-" The girl stopped dead when she saw Ed.

"...W-Winry?..." Ed began shakily, not looking away from the girl's surprised eyes. "What's going on?..."

Winry looked back and forth between the two.

"Um, well..."

"You're Edward Elric," the girl stated numbly, unable to draw her gaze from his.

Ed swallowed, trying to regain his ability to speak.

"Yeah."

The girl shook her head slightly, as if breaking a trance.

"So, _you're_ the Fullmetal? The State Alchemist?" she recited, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Ed suddenly recovered from the shock.

"Yeah, so? What's the big surprise? Did'ja expect me to be taller or something!" he snapped.

"No," the girl stated, unswayed by Ed's anger. "Really, I just..."

Ed softened a bit.

"What?"

"I...just didn't know it was you, that's all," she said quietly, with some reluctance looking away from him.

"You guys..._know_ each other?" Winry asked.

"Well, actually...we just met," Ed said.

"And you didn't get any names!"

"Oh, yeah, I knew I forgot something..." Ed muttered, then looked up at the girl and smiled. "Well, we know who I am. This is my younger brother, Alphonse," he said, gesturing to the armor standing awkwardly next to him; Al bowed slightly to the girl. "And, you are?" Ed asked.

"Colette," the girl said. "Hayse."

"Nice to meet you," Ed said, smiling at her.

He could see her face turn a deep red.

Keeping to her world-renown talent of ruining the moment, Pinako stepped between them, setting a steaming bowl of soup on the table.

"I told you it was a bad idea to keep her a secret," she said dryly.

An apologetic smile appeared on Winry's face.

"Heh, my bad..."

**oOo**

**Ah, skill. Update. ...Short update, but it'll keep you busy. I have actual _ideas_ as to what's happening next, so...that's it. **

**I was thinking about the original idea I had for this fic like a year ago, and I was like huh, this is...totally not gonna work. But then I thought about it more and was like oh, ok. I'll pull it together. Lol, I also have this kick-ass fight scene I wrote a while ago that I want to incorporate in this. S'pretty bitchin'.**

**Ooh! And guess who got their YELLOW BELT in Shaolin Kempo last Sunday! ME! And Macki, but mostly me, cuz I'm the one who made her start in the first place. All white-belts: Have "_Fun_" on your first test. I know I did, lol.**

**Ok, so, rock on.**

**Happy Valentines Day! (Hope yours wasn't as awkward as mine... Wyatt like sat on me...But Benji wasn't an asshole, so it rocked! Muaha)**

**Ahem – **

**3 Morbid Original**

**PS New Screen Name: rokmetallica9**

**...I don't even listen to Metallica...I only made it up to prank this annoying kid (which I haven't done yet), but whatevs. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**oOo**

When Ed awoke the next morning, Pinako said Winry and the girl had already gone out and that they wouldn't be home for a while ("Knowing the strange way _that girl_ goes about," she had said, though not in a disapproving way). The old woman then retreated into the basement to take care of some automail orders, leaving the two boys by themselves.

"It's too quiet," Edward said after a while, and stood. "What do you say we get outta here for the day? Walk around Resembool, check up on some old friends..."

Al looked at him curiously.

"Brother, since when have _you_ wanted to 'check up on' anyone?"

He didn't answer for a moment.

"I don't know. We could just...walk around. Get out of this damn house."

"I'm sure that's your only reason."

"What are you implying?"

Alphonse shrugged.

"Nothing. You go ahead. I'm alright here."

"By yourself?" Ed asked doubtfully.

"I'm not alone," Al protested. "Aunt Pinako's downstairs, and Winry will be home soon."

"What makes you think that?"

Al chuckled.

"Something tells me."

Ed stared at him curiously then departed with an offhand, "Whatever..."

**oOo**

Ed had only gone for a few minutes before her heard a familiar voice.

"I'll see you later, then."

Winry was coming down the path alone, and she waved when she saw him.

"Oh, hey, Ed. I was just coming to see if you wanted to do anything today."

"Like what," he replied dully.

Her cheerful expression dropped, replaced by one of irritation.

"Don't be thick, Ed," she slapped him.

"Ow! What the hell was that for!"

"Ugh! Never mind. Just forget it," and she started past him. "Go have fun by yourself, then."

"W-wait!"

She stopped.

"Well?"

He didn't answer.

"You're so weird," she laughed, shaking her head. "Colette's around here somewhere," she added, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Talk to her if you're bored. She's pretty interesting."

Ed shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I may."

Winry shook her head again in amusement and continued down the path.

Ed strained his ears for a trace of music on the wind, but heard nothing. Not really knowing what he was doing, he kept walking until he came to a pasture by a lake where he and Al had sparred for the first time with their new "bodies". Staring out over the calm water, he was hardly surprised when he felt someone come to stand beside him.

"Strange how we meet like this, isn't it?'

Ed nodded, smirking.

"Coincidence?" he suggested.

"Could be," she replied. "Maybe something more."

He looked over at her questioningly.

She smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Hello, Edward," she said, finally looking up at him. She was wearing a white top and skirt with an indigo sash around her waist, and she carried a black parasol.

"...Hello."

**oOo**

"Do you ever wonder if...I don't know, if...life could've been different somehow?" Colette asked. The two sat quite close beneath a tree along the lake, just talking as time passed. "Like if you could relive a moment in the past that would change the present and the future, would you do it?"

Ed stared blankly into the distance. He nodded.

"All the time."

Colette hugged her legs closer to her chest.

"Me too."

There was a pause.

"I guess you know about us – my brother and I," Edward said.

She shook her head.

"Nobody told me, but I can guess. That's not why I asked, though."

"Oh."

She turned to him suddenly.

"You are not so very unique, Ed Elric," she said steadily, locking her eyes on his. "There have been those more bold and those less so, and yours was not the world's only mistake."

"I know..." he said quietly, "and I wouldn't feel nearly as guilty if...if it hadn't been _him_..."

Colette nodded knowingly.

"Your brother is strong, Edward, and his faith in you is unwavering. He trusts you more than anyone to get through this."

"Yeah, but...I have no idea how..." He paused. "Have you...ever heard of something called the Philosopher's Stone?"

Colette's eyes widened but she nodded.

"We're looking for it. We think if we use it, we could get our bodies back."

"Ignoring the principal of Equivalent Exchange," she said.

"Right. You know about Alchemy?"

"Y...yeah...A little." Her eyes flitted away from his but quickly returned. "Ed," she leaned her head against his, cupping his cheek in her hand. Ed felt his face burning. "Ed, if we never meet again, can I trust that you've found what you're looking for?"

Though rather confused by this, he nodded.

"Of course," he said, his arms sliding to the small of her back, and he held her.

They said nothing for quite a while.

"If there are many more like us," Colette said, "I hope they are far less trapped in the matter than we are, you in the military, and I..."

Ed shook his head.

"Whatever you did, Colette, it can't be anything as foolish as what I did."

"But disregarding the magnamity of the action, we still pay the same price: our action in exchange for a wasted life of searching."

"Tell me what you're looking for," Ed whispered.

Colette shook her head.

"I don't know."

"If you ever find out, you'll tell me, though?"

"I suppose, if it would help."

She pulled back.

"And if you are ever in need of assistance," she paused. "I'm not sure what to offer," she admitted. "There must be some way we can be even."

_Equivalent exchange_, Ed thought, smiling.

"How about, if you're ever in trouble or need help, you'll wire the military – ask for Roy Mustang – and then you come to me, okay?"

She smiled, though she had looked rather surprised at the mentioning of Roy's name.

"Okay," she said.

They stood and went back to the Rockbells', each silently thinking how odd it was that too such similar people had become connected.

**A/N: Yay, done for now. Well, personally, I think this chapter sucks. But hopefully the story will get better later on (next chapter or so. God knows when that'll get written...) when the action starts coming in. This is probably gonna have a sequel when and if I finish this bitch. Mehbe...**

**-In Mercy-**

**Morbid Original**


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